Update 15/08/2017: We're updating a number of aspects of the project based on useful feedback received so far. Namely, we're going to be updating the character sprites and certain aspects of the GUI, as well as partially reworking the first episode as seen in the demo in order that it be more indicative of the sort of quality and themes of the later stories. Please do follow us on Twitter and our dedicated subreddit /r/AcquittalGame as our main development logs to follow the project's progress -- we'll also be setting up a simple donation system so those who supported the Kickstarter can pledge regardless of its success. We'll be looking to release the fully polished version of game on Steam/iOS/Android before Summer 2018. Thanks, and enjoy!

Capital punishment hasn't occurred in the United Kingdom since 1964, but, on the 15th March 2019, a colossal domestic terrorist attack on the state's most prestigious law school leaves the criminal legal system in chaos. With thousands of deaths, survivor Storm Sente, a mere 20-year-old law student, finds himself called to the bar to fulfil his premature duty.

But as the so-called People's Movement for the Revival of Capital Punishment grows into an ever-larger, ever-present threat, the bar is by no means a safe place to be. With even the long-standing local police corruption rearing its ugly head, there's more to fight against than the cases themselves as friends become almost indistinguishable from enemies – the very future of law and order hangs in the balance, from forces both inside and out.

Join Storm and investigate crime scenes, defend clients in court, achieve justice for the innocent and – with a bit of luck – uncover the truth of the fateful terrorist attack and the sprawling cult behind it.

Acquittal: Induction™, the first instalment in a planned series, was born from inspiration from Capcom's Ace Attorney series and is in many ways a homage. Alternating between the investigation of criminal cases at the crime scene and the defence of clients in heated courtroom trials, it inherits its basic mechanics from the classic visual novel series, while taking and running with those core concepts.

The game draws more inspiration from both British courtroom dramas and real-life cases, also adapting the genre to a format more befitting the PC/Steam platform, featuring updated, stylish graphics and new Sherlockian game mechanics (such as Testimony Analysis, Brainstorming and Concatenation) in the way of divergent thinking. These new game modes allow for logic and puzzle-solving like never seen before, moving from pointing out simple contradictions in testimonies to deducing complex facts and theories in order to fight your case and uncover the truth.

Featuring a distinctive style, innovative gameplay mechanics and an epic story with a colourful cast of characters to match, Acquittal: Induction is comprised of five episodes, each longer and more challenging than the last. The 1st of these (The First Daybreak) is available to be sampled in the demo. The subsequent episodes will be released incrementally (as free updates included in the purchase) as development completes with funding.

This law-drama adventure game will be available for PC, Mac and Linux, to be released on Steam.

The first episode of Acquittal: Induction has been completed, of which the entire first half is available for free to download as the demo. With further funding, the remaining four episodes will be completed in turn and released incrementally, as updates to the original game. Releasing episodes in this pseudo-agile way ensures security for the project, allowing players to be able to download and start playing content as soon as it's ready, rather than waiting a potentially painfully long time until the entirety of the game is completed.

In addition, we'll be launching on Steam in order to get the game released on one of the best and most powerful distribution platforms around, supporting cloud save services, achievements, and much more!

Though produced, developed, programmed and written by Procella Games, a great number of hugely talented people have already contributed to the various elements going into the game:

Acquittal: Induction's sleek GUI was designed by Juan Mojica, allowing for streamlined organisation of collected evidence and personnel profiles, with the dynamic screen animations and stylish divergent thinking interfaces being designed by Lazcht of Stellar-Ø.

As such, the majority of funding for the remainder of the game will go into producing more of the vibrant character designs and animations and stunning backgrounds. The backgrounds for the courtroom were designed based on real British Crown Courts, expertly brought to life by Badriel, with the colourful cast of characters vividly designed and realised by Daphne Robinson and fluently animated by David Fuentes.

- - - - -

I've always been interested in English criminal law, and have toyed around with the idea of bringing the magnificent British courtroom dramas into a collaboration with one of my favourite game series, Ace Attorney. I hope fans of Phoenix Wright, Britain, criminal law, visual novels and PC gaming can all come together and hopefully enjoy this exciting project! Please do check out the demo, share your feedback and comments, follow us on social media and help share with others! :D In particular, liking us on Facebook and/or following us on Twitter is by far the best way to stay up-to-date with all the incoming news (we've also launched a dedicated subreddit).

Considering the status of the project, should I consider adding an Extension to PWLib covering this game? (Interfaces, possible characters too)

Certainly an interesting proposal -- while this game is very much separate from Ace Attorney naturally the community overlaps, hence its post here. If you had more ideas regarding this perhaps further down the project's lifetime (early days after all) then feel free to message me.

Update 15/08/2017: We're updating a number of aspects of the project based on useful feedback received so far. Namely, we're going to be updating the character sprites and certain aspects of the GUI, as well as partially reworking the first episode as seen in the demo in order that it be more indicative of the sort of quality and themes of the later stories. Please do follow us on Twitter and our dedicated subreddit /r/AcquittalGame as our main development logs to follow the project's progress -- we'll also be setting up a simple donation system so those who supported the Kickstarter can pledge regardless of its success. We'll be looking to release the fully polished version of game on Steam/iOS/Android before Summer 2018. Thanks, and enjoy!

Not going to lie, I'm undoubtedly intrigued. After forcing myself to play through Shinrai ~ Broken Beyond Despair, which despite its lousy, horribly juvenile, overly anime-esque introduction left a great impression on me with a simply superb conclusion to an intriguing mystery, I've developed a certain hopefulness in these Ace Attorney-derivative original murder mystery visual novels. Though I was caught off-guard by the more than disappointing Regeria Hope, my opinion of such games has not yet been sullied and I wholeheartedly look forward to not only finally managing to download the demo on this shoddy internet of mine, but finally getting to see the final project.

You, sir, have competently captured my interest and have a new follower in me.

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum